human nature cannot hold us down
by Fist-it-Out
Summary: request from @mr-walkingrainbow: could you write Willa x Eliza fanfic where they kinda face both the established fears for both their kinds (silver, fire) and they help the other through it?


**This is a tumblr request by mr-walkingrainbow! **

**request: since I don't want to be sad and alone, could you write a Willa x Eliza fanfic where they kinda face both the established fears for both their kinds (silver, fire) and they help the other through it?**

* * *

Eliza walked through the den, keeping her head held high. The wolves mostly ignored her which she was grateful for, going straight to the steps and climbing up. Willa had been standing, listening to her brother talk beside her, and grinned when she noticed the approaching zombie.

Wyatt stopped, his brows furrowed when Eliza stopped in front of them. He looked at his sister, eyebrows raised, but her eyes were trained on the zombie.

"You ready?" Willa asked.

"Yeah," Eliza grinned. "Let's do this."

Willa turned to her brother. "You can go lead the hunt for dinner tonight. Let me know when you're back."

He frowned but nodded. "Okay." He straightened and called, "Wolves! Prepare for the hunt. Five minutes." He howled and several other wolves howled in response. He started down the stairs.

Eliza watched him, then looked back at Willa. "Howling?"

"It's our language, but that was just so the hunters could confirm the hunt," Willa said. "Come with me so we can get this over with."

Eliza nodded and followed her down the other set of stairs. Willa led her further into the den, past cots and beds and little wolf pups playing or learning or whatever was going on. They went into another room, where older wolves were messing around with fruits and vegetables. Willa took her to the back, turning to face her.

"Are you sure about this? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Three nights ago, at the Prawn after party, Eliza and Willa had found themselves sitting outside the den, swapping stories and actually bonding. Who would've thought a zombie and werewolf would have so much in common. Somehow, they had gotten to the topic of "stereotypes," clarifying any confusion.

"_So your limbs don't really come off?" Willa asked. _

_Eliza laughed. "No, but sometimes we pretend to trick the humans. Their faces are priceless." _

_Willa laughed. "You guys are insane. Do you even actually eat brains or is that just something from the movies?" _

_Eliza shrugged. "Do wolves eat meat?" _

"_Duh, how else are we supposed to survive?" _

_Eliza waved her hands as if to say 'exactly.' "We crave, but zombies are strictly forbidden to have any type of meat. We couldn't even have pets until a few months ago." _

_Willa stopped laughing, looking at her with surprised disgust. "Are you serious?" _

_Eliza nodded. "Why do you think I wanted Zed to be president so bad? I mean, the school is just a small start, but baby steps are still moving." _

"_Well, I'm sorry," Willa said. "I'm not caught up on all my Seabrook knowledge, and I surely cannot stand Zed. But he seems like the lesser of the two evils." _

"_Yeah…" _

"_So…" Willa said. "You do eat brains, you don't just limp and moan. Let me guess, you're not scared of fire like the books say?" _

_Eliza laughed, trying not to sound too nervous. "Just a myth," she muttered. Willa's eyes darkened for a moment. Eliza tried for a lightening smile. "It's perfectly normal to be afraid of fire. Lots of humans are." _

"_I have a feeling that's not the full story." _

"_Yeah well…aren't you afraid of silver?" _

_Willa hardened her gaze. "Silver is dangerous to wolves." _

"_Fire is traumatizing for zombies," Eliza countered. _

Which had gotten them in the wolf den, ready to overcome their obstacles. Face their fears. All that good stuff.

Eliza has filled her bag with all the silver jewelry she could find that wasn't too badly rusted. And Willa…

"This is where we cook, though we only ever use it when someone is really sick," Willa explained. "I had Shawn start the fire for our little…experience."

"That's a way to put it," Eliza muttered.

Willa smirked a little, but returned to her seriousness just as quickly. "Last chance to back out."

"No, I trust you," Eliza said, surprising Willa and even herself. She wasn't wrong, she did trust Willa, just…it was weird. Trusting someone she'd only been friends with for a few days. Especially since there had been so much conflict between them before.

Willa smiled again. "I trust you too," she said.

She stayed quiet for a moment as she glanced down, Eliza watching her, giving her a moment as the werewolf obviously tried to find the right words. When she looked back up at her, the way she looked at her had something different, something deep and trusting and enteral.

"Eliza," she said, her voice strong but her eyes betraying her. "I do trust you." Eliza gave her a soft smile and something inside told her to reach for her hand but she pushed the thought back, not wanting to overstep. "I wouldn't let just anybody burn my skin with silver, so I could build a tolerance. Only my brother."

The memory hit Willa hard, bringing her back to a time when they were wolf-pups and playing around. The Elders had cornered them then, explaining to them the ways of the old; the ways to grow as stronger werewolves. Building a tolerance to silver was necessary, demanded of them. They were eight.

The Elders traditions, though they weren't around anymore, were still upkept by Willa, even if she despised them and the idea of building a tolerance to silver, completely.

The last time Willa and Wyatt had…

Two years ago.

"Hey," Eliza murmured, bringing Willa back to the present. Their hands were interlinked, though Willa couldn't remember Eliza grabbing it. Willa gave her a smile, nodding and then directing her attention to the fire.

* * *

The Fire is in the center of the room, sending terrifying shadows dancing against the stones. Eliza tightened her hold on Willa's hand, her eyes unable to leave the blazing wood or coals or whatever the hell the wolves used.

And suddenly, Eliza was seven years old again. Throwing some old and misshapen football with her neighbor and friend Zed. Zombies were running through the streets and they nearly got trampled. There was some raid down the street, because the zombies did something "illegal" or whatever. It didn't matter. All she remembered was seeing the grocery store she went to every Saturday with her mom and older sister up in flames.

It was Thursday.

Dad worked at the store on Thursdays.

"Eliza." Willa's voice broke through the memory, pulling Eliza out of the foggy, murky nightmare.

Eliza forced her gaze from the dancing flames to the face of the wolf beside her, shadowed and lit by the cause of her nightmares. Willa's expression…was hard to read, it's always hard to read. The cover faded and she softened, giving her a gentle smile.

"You're okay. You're safe." Willa assured her. "Don't let it have control over you. Control drives fear. Take back the control."

"Control."

Willa nodded. "You have control. Don't lose it."

* * *

Eliza rifled through her backpack, finding the silver rings she'd been collecting for years, jangling around in a plastic bag. As soon as Willa's eyes landed on the collection of rings, her heart skipped a beat, and not in a good way.

"Ready?" Eliza asked in a whisper, glancing up from the ring she was clutched between two fingers. When her eyes met Willa's, there's no fear but instead a twisted sense of understanding, and a shudder ran through Eliza when she remembered that Willa had done this before, possibly more than once. She wondered if she would get the full story someday.

"Ready." Willa said, straightening her shoulders and Eliza counted to three before gently pressing the silver to the skin of Willa's arm.

Eliza didn't know what she was expecting—a scream, or maybe even some fidgeting—but Willa didn't make a sound, spare for the small breath of air she released when the ring first touched her skin. The searing sound the silver made as connected with werewolf skin, however, was gut-wrenching, and Eliza immediately wanted to pull the ring away and save Willa from this idea completely. She could protect her from silver and any other dangers out there with a snap of her Z-Band. Why put Willa through pain like this when—

Still soundless, Willa squeezed her eyes shut, and the searing grew louder, causing Eliza's stomach to churn even more. Fire was nothing like this, sure, she was scared of it, but there was always stop, drop and roll with fire, silver however…

She wanted to take Willa's pain away.

Deciding, Eliza went to pull her hand back and remove the ring, but Willa reached up and grabbed her wrist, her warm fingers closing around the coldness of her pale skin. "Not yet," she mumbled, shaking her head and opening her eyes. "The last time my brother and I did this, Wyatt beat me by a minute."

"That doesn't mean anything," Eliza argued, "you're in pain."

"I can take the pain," she growled, snapping her eyes to Eliza's. Vaguely, Eliza remembered the faded scar she had seen on the inside of Willa's thumb when she had gone to hold her hand. She wondered how much pain she took that day, Wyatt by her side, siblings together forever, through it all.

Eliza's other hand gently fell on Willa's, her fingers closing around her own. "You don't need to take all the pain anymore, Willa," she said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

Willa's gaze, steely and brave, hiding so incredibly much, bore into her and Eliza took the jump, pulling the ring back. Her eyes drifted down to the the spot the ring had been, a small mark there, white as snow, and to Eliza's eyes, still sizzling.

"I wouldn't have been able to do this without you," Willa whispered, to Eliza's surprise. "Wyatt's my rock but there's some things I wish…"

She trailed off, looking down. Eliza put the ring back in the bag and zipped it up, sliding it across the ground to where it can't be seen anymore.

They were sitting just outside of the den, legs crossed, knees bumping against each other when they hear rustling and when they both look over they hear hoots and howls, signaling that Wyatt and the rest of the hunting party had returned.

A few minutes later, Wyatt appeared in the doorway, eyes searching for his sister. When they instead settle on both girls sitting together, sharing what appears to be an intimate conversation, he nods towards his sister, their eyes sharing a silent conversation before floating down to the new mark on her arm.

"You okay?" he asked, sparing a glance at Eliza, able to smell the remnants of burning silver.

Willa looked at her brother and then at Eliza, giving a small smile the zombie's way.

"I am now."


End file.
